Jobs scam charges against Emirati dropped

A man arrested in a police sting is freed from prison.

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ABU DHABI // An Emirati accused in the Philippines of illegal recruitment and large-scale fraud was released from prison yesterday after the charges against him were dropped.

AK, 47, was arrested on January 8 in a police sting in a restaurant after he accepted marked money from a Filipino-Iranian complainant, PG.

PG claimed that he paid AK 301,000 pesos (Dh24,774) in recruitment fees so that he and four others could secure jobs in Dubai.

Police established that AK was not a licensed recruiter and 14 other people came forward after his arrest to make similar allegations, although none has filed a formal complaint, said Jeffrey Deola, an investigator at the theft and robbery section of Cebu City police.

During initial proceedings this month, AK was detained in the lock-up cell inside the theft and robbery section.

"The charges were dismissed for a lack of probable cause to push through the case, and because the complainant failed to submit documentary evidence and any other evidence that warrants the filing of a case in court," Mr Deola said yesterday.